Nostalgia ain't what it used to be

Political Bribery and Bad Faith

Date: 01 June, 2001

By: Chief

ince the beginning of May, U.S. Senator Jeffords (R-Ver) has been making noises about leaving the Republican Party. Well today, May 23, 2001, the senator made good on his noises. Come sometime in June Jeffords will renounce his Republican affiliation and become an Independent.

His leaving does two very different and distinct things. First, control of the senate will shift to the Democrats. Second, the citizens of Vermont who did vote for him — as a Republican — no longer have a senator who represents them.

Senate Democrats are overjoyed! Senate Republicans are not. Yet neither party gives one single solitary damn about the Constitution, let alone We the People. It is all about power. The 'who controls' what.

As late as yesterday (May 22, 2001), Trent Lott, Senate Majority Leader (R-Miss), in a last gasp bid to keep Jeffords 'in the fold', openly offered Jeffords a bribe. More money for education Lott promised Jeffords. Lott also offered Jeffords a committee chair. However, as we all know, it was too little too late.

I'm quite sure any politician would hasten to point out, using semantics, that Senator Trent Lott did not offer, publically or otherwise, Senator Jeffords a bribe. No, no, no. It was an incentive. That is all. No more, no less. Politicians do it all the time don't you know. Tell you what, John Q. Citizen, try the exact same thing and see what happens. Yes, there is room for you at the Cross Bars Bed and Breakfast.

Bribery, as defined in Black's Law Dictionary is:

"The offering, giving, receiving, or soliciting of something of value for the purpose of influencing the action of an official in the discharge his or her public or legal duties."

Now tell me Trent Lott did not commit bribery. Oh hah! Trent Lott needs to be hauled before the Senate Ethics (talk about an oxymoron) Committee and expelled from the Senate — at the very least. And the worst part of the entire sordid affair was that Trent Lott wants quite desperately to remain within the pinnacle of power. Senate Majority Leader. That office has a lot of political juice. Horsepower, if you will. That office controls the destiny of political appointees. Judges, cabinet members, etc. Further, someone is always asking the majority leader to lunch or dinner at company expense. Why? To get their bill through or to pay for some other special favor. So, as one can easily see, once you are majority leader you can have a free lunch - at We the Peoples' expense.

On the other side of the coin, Jeffords, and all the other elected politicians who switched political parties after being elected, shafted those who in good faith elected the scum into office. I am willing to bet that neither Jeffords nor the others, during an election campaign, said to the voters "vote for me and once elected I change parties." Would you, Democrat, Republican, Libertarian or whatever party vote, for some one who said that to you? I rather doubt it. So you, each person who voted for one of these turncoats, got stuck with the short end of the stick to say the least. A case of bad faith.

Bad faith, as defined in Black's Law Dictionary:

"[I]mplying or involving actual or constructive fraud, or a design to mislead or deceive another. . .."

You voted for a person to represent you from a particular party. That person is elected and subsequently changes party affiliation. Constructive fraud? I think so. While Bill Klinton was in the oral office, numerous Democratic representatives and a Senator or two became Republicans. The Republican party did not seem to mind in one whit. Now the shoe is on the other foot. We shall see what happens.

No matter what happens within either of the main political parties, one thing stands at the forefront. Power is number one. We the People, we the voters, we the masters, are forgotten. We do not matter at all except for two things: money (taxes) and votes. Other than that, get back into your hole and stay there, serf. That is what these power hungry politicians think of us — We the People.

Maybe if these turncoats were either recalled or taken out and used as shark bait, politicians might not be so brazen as to commit bribery or renege on party affiliation until after their specific term has expired.